Economic accounting for state farms: problems of agricultural reform in the USSR (1960–1970s)

In the mid-1960s, the famous "Kosygin" reforms began in the Soviet state (on the initiative of A. Kosygin, who then became Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR). The emphasis was on expanding the method of economic incentives in relation to socialist industrial enterprises, and there are many publications on this. The specific features of these reforms in agriculture are covered to a lesser extent, which is what this article is devoted to. The documents of the CPSU Central Committee, government acts regulating this area of public relations, archival documents, and scientific works that examine this issue are analyzed. It is noted that the reformers focused on the transition to business accounting of state farms, which, unlike collective farms, were state agricultural enterprises, separated from industrial enterprises, and in connection with the specifics of the activity, special guidelines for reforms were issued in relation to agriculture. In general, the reforms did not produce the expected results, although there were some positive components, and by the beginning of the 1980s their failure became obvious.